The Magnificent 7: Must See, Must Do, October 26-November 1 

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• Courtesy
• Spooky Night

Spirited Away

Friday 28

History buffs enjoy a Halloween party tailor-made to their interests with Spooky Night at the Henry Sheldon Museum of Vermont History in Middlebury. Attendees take in the museum's collection of spirit photographs — trendy Victorian images allegedly depicting 19th-century ghosts — amid scary stories, tarot readings and ghoulishly groovy live music.

Let There Be Light

Saturday 29 & Sunday 30

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• Courtesy Of Michelle Leftheris
• Matthew Evan Taylor

The Vermont Symphony Orchestra teams up with the VSO Chorus for Paradise and Light, an exhilarating, heartstring-tugging program of new and classic works. Audiences at the Flynn in Burlington and Paramount Theatre in Rutland witness the world premiere of composer Matthew Evan Taylor's From Despair ... Light! alongside Vaughan Williams' setting of Walt Whitman's poetry, Toward the Unknown Region, and Antonín Dvoák's transcendent Symphony No. 7.

But Soft

Thursday 27

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• Courtesy Of Paul Kolnik
• Romeo and Juliet

Obie Award winner Leah C. Gardiner directs New York theater troupe the Acting Company in an instantly iconic rendition of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, stopping by Fuller Hall at St. Johnsbury Academy this week. The production breathes new life into this beloved tale with fanciful costumes, moonlit graveyards and bloody duels.

Frightening Films

Saturday 29

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• © Nyul | Dreamstime
• Halloween-O-Thon

It's scary out there for independent filmmakers. Luckily, White River Junction auteurs get their moment in the spotlight at Junction Arts & Media's Halloween-O-Thon Spooktacular Showcase. A selection of seven-minute horror shorts has audience members on the edge of their seats and is followed by an awards ceremony celebrating the best cinematography, sound design and more.

Antici ... pation

Monday 31

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• © Hutchinsphoto | Dreamstime
• Barry Bostwick

Hot patootie, bless my soul: Burlingtonians experience the Rocky Horror Picture Show screening of a lifetime at the Flynn this Halloween. Barry Bostwick — aka Brad himself — makes an appearance, meets with VIP pass holders and does the time warp again at this special anniversary showing of the cult camp classic.

Town Hall Meeting

Wednesday 2

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• Courtesy Of National Archives
• "Freedom of Speech" by Norman Rockwell

Just in time for Election Day, Middlesex town meeting moderator and coauthor of Slow Democracy: Rediscovering Community, Bringing Decision Making Back Home Susan Clark presents a First Wednesdays talk at Goodrich Memorial Library in Newport. Clark argues for local, neighbor-to-neighbor political mobilization as a panacea to many problems plaguing the nation today and offers up examples and anecdotes from across the country.

Back to the Landscape

Ongoing

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• Courtesy Of Edgewater Gallery
• "Elders" by Kathleen Kolb

Art lovers take care not to get lost in Kathleen Kolb's mesmerizingly realistic paintings at her solo show, "Fragile/Familiar," at Middlebury's Edgewater Gallery on the Green. The artist's work focuses on light, New England architecture and a sense of place, using color, texture and detail to evoke exquisitely specific moments in time.